Mechanical Engineering Student/Intern 5

[cullyncorley]

I am a month away from beginning my Sophomore year as a ME student and I currently work as an ME intern at Huber Engineered Woods in Broken Bow, OK.
One thing I'm afraid of is being a pencil pusher, or working on CAD all day, every day. Since I have been an intern at this plant, I have worked with two maintenance crews, and designed platforms to go around machinery on CAD. When I became an intern, I was hoping to get my hands dirty and be in the middle of everything, soaking up as much knowledge as possible and hopefully learning a few new trades. The only time I have left my computer is when I worked with the maintenance crews and when I actually helped a mechanic cut, weld, and build a platform I designed. I enjoy working with my hands and I am a fast learner but I feel like pursuing one specific trade would be selling myself short. Unfortunately, design is not my strong suit. I've never been the type to "think outside of the box", which has made my experience as an intern not as enjoyable as I have hoped.
With that being said, are there ME jobs that could satisfy my desire to work with my hands and pursue my interests or will I be stuck behind a computer designing things and not ever gaining any real knowledge of how to actually build or repair things? I mean no disrespect to design engineers who enjoy that kind of work, it takes all kinds, it is just not for me and I find myself getting very restless sitting at a computer all day wishing I was out in the field or actually had my hands on something. I really aspire to be "the guy" that can build it all, fix it all, and is an expert troubleshooter.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[KENAT]

Well, you could be a field engineer or similar which will involve being out in the field a lot. Probably quite a lot of travel too - which is great if you're young with no ties but more of a strain as you get older and maybe want to settle down.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[drawoh]

cullyncorley,

The thing I hate is CAD operators who do not want to get their hands dirty.

--
JHG

 

[MintJulep]

"the guy" that can build it all, fix it all, and is an expert troubleshooter.

That guy knows:
How the system is supposed to work.
How each of the parts work.
How the output of one thing becomes the input of the next thing and what the optimum value or range of that interface should be.
How a failure of any part affects the system.
How process parameters affect the finished product.

Basically, that guy needs to know more about the system than the guy that designed it. He needs to know more about the product than the people who make it every day.

That guy needs to be able to match engineering principles to physical parts doing things.

Are you there yet?

 

[gruntguru]

He did say he "aspires" to that.

je suis charlie

 

[Jboggs]

MintJulep has it right. The most valuable engineer is one that understands it all, not only what physical principles and best design practices apply to each part as well as the whole system but also the details of how the device is built. He should know what the force vectors and part accelerations are as well as things like wrench clearances and the skillset of the personnel building and maintaining it. The absolute BEST engineers are those that can blend their head knowledge with feedback from those that have to work on other engineer's "inventions" in the real world.

My advice is "Patience, Grasshopper". (Look it up. It's reference to a TV show from 30 years ago.) All things will come with time. Have you asked your boss for more hands-on experience? If not, you should. He might assume that CAD is what you really want to do.

I'll have to say that around here where I work a sizable majority of the engineers consider interns to be nothing more than a pain in the ass. They are very shortsighted in my opinion, but that doesn't change the fact. When I came up there was no such thing as an intern program. You got your degree, jumped out into the real world, and sank or swam. I saw many sink. My point is this: be grateful for WHATEVER experience you get. Your design work will become more interesting to you once you are able to integrate a little more of the lessons learned in your hands-on experience.

So - Be patient. Learn to ask for what you want. And be grateful for ALL of it.

 

[tomwalz]

+1 for What they said.
Interns are a good idea for the intern and the industry. You are fortunate that they are giving you real work.

My old partner; Dr. Bob ME PhD, PE use to say that ME's were the ess3ential engineer. You could go anywhere. With a little more education you could be any kind of specialist you wished to be.

Have you considered working part time in a machine shop?

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

 

[Dougt115]

If you want to get your hands dirty look for jobs in the smaller companies that manufacture in-house. Mechanical Engineers in big companies don't get to get dirty and spend a lot of time on the computers. But small companies you have to get the job done and that means getting on the floor.

 

[tbuelna]

I really aspire to be "the guy" that can build it all, fix it all, and is an expert troubleshooter.

The guy that tells other guys how to build something is called a "design engineer". And they spend most of their time sitting at a desk working on a computer.

The guy that tells other guys how to fix something is called an "MRB engineer". And they spend most of their time creating paperwork.

The guy that is paid big bucks to provide "expert troubleshooter" services is a guy that has decades of experience in the industry. Someone that has seen it all and done it all. Probably not the type of position one would be qualified for as an engineering undergrad.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Make an effort to be within earshot when your designs are being fabricated/ assembled/ tested/ used/ fixed.

Listen carefully, especially to the people who are cursing.

Don't take it personally, but do use it as a learning opportunity.

You will know that you are learning when they stop cursing about you.


Remember this: The only reason designers and engineers have jobs is because machinists and fabricators don't have erasers.


Make it possible for the people doing the work to do it better, faster, and with fewer mistakes, and they will remember you.






Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[tbuelna]

MikeHalloran-

I do mechanical systems design in the aerospace industry. Every part I design gets reviewed by somewhere between 10-20 other engineering specialists before it is released to be manufactured. The reason for having so many other engineers review my work is to make sure there are no problems with the design. Problems with the design of an aircraft or spacecraft component are always a huge issue. And complaints from machinists or fabricators would be the least of my worries.

 

[Dougt115]

It is not the complaints it is the reason for the complaints. We had a part designed from 4140 with a 16 finish, the machinist hated it because it was gummy, had to be sent out to be hardened and then ground. I listened, reviewed the part and changed it to 17-4. It may cause more wear on the tools but they can machine it to spec inhouse. They still complain but because I listened they are content.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Peer review has its own value for your organization, but feedback from people who have to deal with the physical manifestation of your work is much more important to your personal growth and skill set.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[tbuelna]

I would agree that "feedback from people who have to deal with the physical manifestation of your work is much more important to your personal growth and skill set", as you so eloquently put it, is the most effective type of learning experience. I recall getting my butt chewed out by my boss a couple times during my career for making stupid mistakes, but I sure never made those same mistakes a second time.

 

[Panther140]

You could be an Engineering Technician if you wanted to. I am one and my daily life is pretty similar to what you describe as what you want to do. I make an hourly wage, but I have the go-ahead to work as many hours as I want to as long as the stuff gets done and Im being productive.

You can work into a higher level Technician position and be getting VERY hands on while still doing most of the things that mechanical engineers do. Im an entry-level Lab Tech turning wrenches, welding, computer work, improving test methods, and solving all kinds of interesting problems. Pay varies by week, but it is usually comprable to entry level engineers after the extra hours I take the initiative to put in.

"Thinking outside the box", however, is something you should embrace.

"Formal education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." ~ Joseph Stalin